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Workers Compensation Psychologist for Aged Care Workers in NSW

Is there a list of SIRA-approved psychologists for aged care workers in NSW?

There is no separate aged care sector provider register. Any SIRA-registered psychologist can treat a residential aged care worker, home care worker, or disability support worker under the NSW workers compensation scheme. What matters is that the psychologist holds a current SIRA provider number and can bill your insurer (icare or Treasury Managed Fund) directly.

The listings include SIRA-approved registered psychologists who accept workers compensation clients, including those offering telehealth. For aged care workers managing split rosters, late afternoon carer shifts, or driving between home care clients, the telehealth filter is worth using first: a video session between shifts is far more realistic than travelling to a suburban clinic at the end of a physically and emotionally demanding day.

Which workers compensation scheme covers you?

Most aged care workers in NSW are covered by icare, but the employer type and your employment status both affect which insurer you deal with.

A SIRA-approved psychologist experienced with workers compensation will generally accept both icare and TMF referrals. If your employer is a federally self-insured company (holding a Comcare licence), you would be covered by Comcare rather than icare; confirm your scheme with your employer HR before lodging. Your union, whether HSU NSW or United Workers Union (UWU), is often the fastest starting point if you are unsure.

Which situation are you in?

Common psychological injuries in aged care

Aged care work produces a specific set of psychological injury risk factors that are well-documented nationally (Safe Work Australia, ABS). Understanding which pattern applies to your situation helps you explain your presentation to a psychologist and supports your claim documentation.

• Occupational violence and resident aggression: Physical and verbal assault from residents, including those with dementia or severe cognitive impairment, is the most common acute injury trigger in aged care. A single serious assault can produce acute stress disorder or PTSD. Repeated lower-level aggression over months or years can produce a cumulative anxiety disorder or depression that is equally compensable. Section 11A does not apply to resident aggression; it applies to management decisions, not resident behaviour.
• Secondary traumatic stress and vicarious trauma: Sustained exposure to residents' suffering, cognitive decline, and deaths over a care career can produce secondary traumatic stress responses that meet clinical thresholds for PTSD or a related diagnosis. This is distinct from general occupational stress and is increasingly recognised in claims. Documenting the accumulation of incidents over time is important for cumulative claims.
• Moral injury and burnout from understaffing: Knowing what good care looks like but being unable to deliver it because of staffing levels and time pressure is a documented source of moral injury in aged care workers. When this progresses to clinical burnout, adjustment disorder, or depression, it may be compensable if employment is a substantial contributing factor. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (2021) documented this pattern extensively across the sector.
• COVID-19 aftermath: Aged care workers experienced acute COVID-19 exposure risk, grief from high resident mortality, prolonged PPE demands, and sustained psychological pressure from 2020 through 2022. Claims arising from COVID-19 exposure stress, grief responses, and cumulative pandemic-period trauma remain open under NSW workers compensation where the injury occurred in an employment context.
• Workplace bullying and management conflict: The section 11A exclusion applies in aged care as in other sectors: reasonable performance management and supervision decisions are excluded. But bullying outside reasonable management action, interpersonal hostility from colleagues or supervisors, and systematic targeting remain compensable.

What to look for in a psychologist for an aged care workers comp claim

The icare/SIRA scheme has specific billing and reporting requirements under the AHTR framework. Not every psychologist is experienced navigating them. These are the five questions to ask before booking.

1. Do you have a current SIRA provider number? This is non-negotiable. Without it, the psychologist cannot bill icare or TMF directly and you would be out of pocket. Confirm before you book.
2. Can you bill icare (or TMF) directly? Direct billing means the psychologist invoices the insurer; you pay nothing for approved sessions. Some practices prefer upfront payment and reimbursement, which adds friction during a claim period.
3. Have you worked with aged care workers or presentations involving occupational violence, vicarious trauma, or burnout? These are the main presentations in aged care; experience with complex cumulative trauma cases matters because the documentation requirements for cumulative claims differ from single-incident PTSD.
4. Can you offer telehealth, and at what hours? For a carer finishing a late shift or moving between home care clients, standard clinic hours are often impractical. Telehealth sessions attract the same SIRA gazetted rates as in-person sessions. Ask whether mid-morning, early-evening, or weekend slots are available.
5. Are you comfortable with the AHTR process? The Allied Health Treatment Request is how ongoing funded sessions are approved after your initial assessment. Confirm the psychologist understands the form and will liaise with your case manager to get ongoing sessions approved promptly.

Why telehealth suits aged care workers

Aged care work creates specific barriers to in-person psychology appointments that telehealth removes:

• Late and split shifts: Morning care shifts starting at 6am or 7am, and evening shifts finishing at 9pm or later, fall outside standard clinic hours. A psychologist who offers early-morning or evening telehealth slots can fit around an aged care schedule in a way that a fixed-location practice often cannot.
• Geographic spread of home care work: Home care workers driving between clients across a large service area cannot interrupt their day to attend a suburban clinic. Telehealth sessions continue from wherever the worker is, without a separate travel requirement.
• Physical and emotional fatigue after shifts: Aged care work is physically demanding. After eight or more hours of manual handling and emotional labour, travelling to a psychology practice is a genuine barrier. A telehealth session from home immediately after a shift removes that barrier and reduces the likelihood of cancelled appointments.
• Privacy: Some aged care workers are reluctant to be seen entering a psychology practice in the area where they work or live, particularly in smaller communities or regional areas where clients' families are local. Telehealth from a private space at home removes that concern.
• Continuity during peak periods: Aged care staffing pressures, especially over holiday periods, make consistent in-person attendance difficult. Telehealth is easier to maintain without long treatment gaps when workloads increase.

Telehealth psychology under workers compensation uses billing items PSY301 (initial 60-minute consultation, $284.40) and PSY302 (subsequent 60-minute consultations, $237.60). The same rates apply as for in-person sessions. Source: SIRA 2026 Psychology and Counselling Fees and Practice Requirements (effective 1 February 2026).

Session costs: what SIRA pays in 2026

For insurer-approved claims under NSW workers compensation (icare or Treasury Managed Fund), psychology fees are set by SIRA's gazetted schedule. As at 1 February 2026 (following the 2026 indexation increase):

For an approved claim, the insurer pays the psychologist directly and you pay nothing. If a psychologist charges above the SIRA schedule rate, they must bill you the difference; this is uncommon for practitioners experienced with workers compensation. Source: SIRA 2026 Psychology and Counselling Fees and Practice Requirements.

There is no fixed session cap under workers compensation, unlike Medicare's 10-session limit. Sessions continue as long as your treating psychologist submits AHTR renewals that the insurer approves as reasonably necessary for recovery.

The 2026 reform: what changes for aged care workers

From 1 July 2026, NSW workers compensation introduced changes affecting weekly income payments for primary psychological injuries. Here is what matters for aged care and home care workers:

• 130-week cap on weekly payments: Weekly income payments for primary psychological injuries are capped at 130 weeks from the date of injury. This cap does not affect funding for psychology treatment sessions, which continues under the AHTR model regardless of the weekly payments position.
• Extended payments for high-impairment claims: Workers assessed at 25% or more Whole Person Impairment (WPI) for injuries notified from 1 July 2026 may continue weekly payments beyond 130 weeks. This 25% threshold applies to extended weekly payments only; it does not change the lump-sum access threshold.
• Lump-sum threshold unchanged: The threshold to access lump-sum compensation for psychological injury remains at 15% WPI. This was not altered by the 2026 reform.

For most aged care workers currently receiving psychology sessions, the immediate practical change is limited. Psychology treatment funding is unchanged. The reform primarily affects income replacement payments for claims extending beyond two and a half years. Source: Personal Injury Commission NSW, Workers Compensation Changes to Commence 1 July 2026.

For a full breakdown, see the 2026 reform guide.

Frequently asked questions

This guide provides general educational information about the NSW workers compensation scheme. It is not legal, insurance, or clinical advice. SIRA rates are current as at 1 February 2026 (source: SIRA 2026 Psychology and Counselling Fees and Practice Requirements). Reform information sourced from the Personal Injury Commission NSW (pi.nsw.gov.au). Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW). Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (NSW), assented 11 February 2026. Refer to icare NSW and SIRA NSW for current guidance.